The Wicker Man
Monday, 04 Sep 2006 17:32
A trip to see the Wicker Man does not normally end well
Directed by Neil LaBute, out now. Starring Nicolas Cage, Ellen Burstyn, Kate Beahan. Running time 115 minutes.
In a nutshell…
Atmospheric. Mildly chilling. Deeply flawed.
What's it all about?
California police officer Edward Malus is plagued by flashbacks and nightmares after failing to save the lives of a mother and her young daughter in a horrific road accident. A chance to exorcise his own demons would appear to arrive with a letter from his former fiancee Willow Woodward, who begs him to travel to her island home to search for her missing daughter.
In the beekeeping community of Summersisle, Malus discovers a Goddess-worshipping village society ruled exclusively by women and where men are reduced to the status of drones.
Warned by apparent outsider Willow to trust nothing he sees or hears, Edward is stonewalled at every turn in his search for Rowan Woodward. As his hallucinations and nightmares worsen, Edward must find the missing child before the violent truth behind the island’s secretive religious practices are revealed to him in terrifying fashion.
Who's in it?
Nicolas Cage struggles manfully with the dismal script and the lip-trembling, tear-filled gazes of his co-star Kate Beahan as Willow; but like his character he’s on a “quixotic” fool’s errand, as the island’s acerbic schoolteacher Sister Rose (Molly Parker) has it.
Ellen Burstyn as queen bee of the hive mind, the elegant Sister Summersisle, floats majestically through her scenes with Cage but sadly never displays a fraction of the subtlety and charm-filled guile that characterised the role made famous by Christopher Lee in the 1973 original.
As an example…
“Something bad is about to happen. I can feel it,” Edward Malus
“The drone must die!” the worker-bee women of the island celebrate their May Day festival.
“AAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!” An appointment with the Wicker Man is kept.
Likelihood of a trip to the Oscars
There’s more chance of Sister Summersisle turning into a suburban housewife.
What the others say
“The film is being marketed as a horror thriller, but it lacks suspense and is never particularly scary. It's just weak, and the misogyny that has always animated LaBute's work is really tired.” Reel.com
“This has limited interest to folks who don't know the old movie, and an excruciating experience for those who do.” Empire
“Put this one to the torch.” Channel 4 Film
So is it any good?
While there are some genuinely tense set pieces, the film never becomes dark enough to fully explore Edward Malus’ fragmenting psyche, leaving enthusiasts of the original unsatisfied and more than a little bemused.
Shot in a palette of golds and browns, the cinematography is one of the few high points of the film. Vancouver stands in for Puget Sound, while an aerial shot of a terrified – and bee-allergic – Malus running through a field of beehives pursued by his winged tormentors is genuinely sinister.
There are moments of unintentional comedy – the sight of Nicolas Cage running through the forest in a bear suit and furry boots will not be forgotten in a hurry.
On the many downsides, the story’s infamous climax is poorly edited and fails to deliver any real shocks, with a tacked-on epilogue that’s as pointless as it is patronising.
Overall, a largely redundant remake of a cult classic. Stick to the original.
3/10
Rebecca Malings
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